First of all, the main piece of technology we used was Blogger, this has enabled us to express all of our ideas, problems, and processes we have gone through to create our final product. Using blogger has allowed us to share information with eachother, post feedback on peer's blogs, and looks at other peoples work which are all pretty important parts of the whole process, it has also allowed us to keep on top of our work as our schedules are on the blog. Blogger has been the main centre piece of our work as all of the other tehcnologies we have used e.g. Animoto, Scribd etc. can all be embedded on here which is helpful when it comes to presenting our work in creative and detailed ways.
The camera we used to film our music video was a Canon EOS 550D, we had other options which included a Sanyo HD Camcorder which was 1080p, but the Canon had the best resolution which is why we chose to use it. he camera was the perfect choice touse as all of our footage came out crystal clear and looked really good, however, because of the such high resolution of the camera, it took up alot of space when trying to transfer onto Emma's computer, within 100 shots just under 6GB of memory had been taken up, this resulted in us having to take out the external hardrive from schooland transfer it through and consequently having to convert the footage.
Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter were used in order to promote our artist Eve T and to allow her to interact with her audience, one way of this was by putting 'tweets',we did this so our whole process seemed more realistic and to allow Eve to create a realtionship with her audience.
Throughout our research and planning we used technologies such as Animoto and Scribd to present our work in a more creative manner, using Animoto helped us throughout as it helped us create our pitch, which we received very positive feedback on, and to complete tasks on the schedule list which maybe needed presenting in a different format a written essay. Scribd allowed us to present our photo shoot with Eve in a very simple way, it also kept the images in one place which was convenient when looking for images to use in our digipacks and magazine advert etc.
Youtube was used to post our draft and final videos on, we used this because it was the easiest way to access our video and the fact that we could get feedback on it from people who had seen in on the internet, using Youtube allowed us to embed it onto the blog without any hassel,and also to postit onto our personal twitters and facebook's to get feedback from our friends.
During the editing process we started to use Adobe premier, which is quite complex to use, we were considering using Adobe After Effects to add additional effects and to improve some of the shots in our video, but,due to the complexity of the programme and how strapped we were for time we were advised not to use it as it was a very time consuming programme to learn to use. Half way through the process, Emma got a MacBook Pro, which was very helpful, we ended up transferring all of our footage onto her new laptop and starting again, which meant we changed the editing software we were using. We ended up using iMovie to edit our video, which was much easierto use than Adobe Premier.
I used my iPhone 4 throughout the process of filming as it has the song we were using on it, this was needed when we were filming certain shots and because it is portable we were able to carry it everywhere, this was the easiest and most convenient way to access the song and it helped us alot when we were filming our location shots down by the lake.
I used Photoshop CS5 to create both of my ancillary products, this allowed me to create a digipack and a magazine advert easily and to be able to produce work to an acceptable standard. Photoshop allowed me to edit and enhance photos to use for my products and madethe whole alot easier, even though i had some issues when printing out my work (the quality was very poor) i feel that Photoshop CS5 helped me producework which i am proud of and represents my artist in a manner so that people would want to purchase her work.
The technology we used throughout the process allowed us to produce research and planning work to a good level, and also allowed us to film in such high resolution to create a music video which was filmed to an excellent standard.
Friday 9 December 2011
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
In relation to feedback, most of the feedback that we have actually had has been very positive. The feedback on our pitch was the best we had in terms of positivity and less scrutiny as the initial idea obviously appealed to alot of people in the room. As research and planning went on, obviously we recived more constructive critisism so it helped us to try and improve on aspects that people thought were weaker than others.
For our video we received a very mixed range of feedback, the lowest mark we recived was 4/10 which we thought was a little bit uncalled for! The majority of feedback we received though was good and people had picked up on points which they thought could have gone a little bit smoother than what they did in the video which was fine, e.g. 'the editing is too fast paced' and 'the lip syncing doesn't match perfectly', in terms of the editing being too fast paced, from the start we has the idea that we wanted to create a video that had fast paced editing in it to go with the pace of the music, the genre was dance/ hip-hop which generally isn't slow music, and we thought that the pace of the song and certain parts of it would suit having very fast paced editing.
In our draft, there weren't many shots which lead our feedback not to be very detailed as there wasn't much to evaluate. One aspect which was picked up on many times was the frequent use of extremely quick shots, looking back the shots are very quick but due to the issues we had when trying to film we hadn't got much to work with for the draft. Considering the few issues we had with our artist, we ended up having to sacrifice one of our locations, which was the field, and due to being cancelled on last minute there were also occasions where we were at the location and we had a phone call saying that they couldn't make it, this pu us at a disadvnatage as we didn't have as many shots as we would have liked in order to complete our video to it's full potential.
When we were evaluating peers work in class not to long ago, everyone received feedback and a mark out of 10 for their music video. Apart from a select few our video recived mostly 7 and 8/10 which we were very happy about, some of the comments from our peers included how they liked the contrast of effects which we included in our video, and the range of shots that we had and how good they were, overall we were very happy with out feedback apart from 3/4 people that gave us a 4/10. Thankfully not one person said that they didn't like our video, which is good considering that the genre we picked wasn't for everyone.
In our draft feedback these were the main points picked up on by Mr Ford-
For our video we received a very mixed range of feedback, the lowest mark we recived was 4/10 which we thought was a little bit uncalled for! The majority of feedback we received though was good and people had picked up on points which they thought could have gone a little bit smoother than what they did in the video which was fine, e.g. 'the editing is too fast paced' and 'the lip syncing doesn't match perfectly', in terms of the editing being too fast paced, from the start we has the idea that we wanted to create a video that had fast paced editing in it to go with the pace of the music, the genre was dance/ hip-hop which generally isn't slow music, and we thought that the pace of the song and certain parts of it would suit having very fast paced editing.
In our draft, there weren't many shots which lead our feedback not to be very detailed as there wasn't much to evaluate. One aspect which was picked up on many times was the frequent use of extremely quick shots, looking back the shots are very quick but due to the issues we had when trying to film we hadn't got much to work with for the draft. Considering the few issues we had with our artist, we ended up having to sacrifice one of our locations, which was the field, and due to being cancelled on last minute there were also occasions where we were at the location and we had a phone call saying that they couldn't make it, this pu us at a disadvnatage as we didn't have as many shots as we would have liked in order to complete our video to it's full potential.
When we were evaluating peers work in class not to long ago, everyone received feedback and a mark out of 10 for their music video. Apart from a select few our video recived mostly 7 and 8/10 which we were very happy about, some of the comments from our peers included how they liked the contrast of effects which we included in our video, and the range of shots that we had and how good they were, overall we were very happy with out feedback apart from 3/4 people that gave us a 4/10. Thankfully not one person said that they didn't like our video, which is good considering that the genre we picked wasn't for everyone.
In our draft feedback these were the main points picked up on by Mr Ford-
- The shot variety is good but they are too fleeting.
- It's hard to discern whether Eve is supposed to be happy or sad.
- Lip syncing is out in some clips.
- 18 looks like a continuity error.
- She looks slightly awkward in some clips.
Looking back at the draft now i can fully understand were he was coming from in terms of Eve looking awkward in some clips and whether she was happy or sad, all of these comments we took on board and worked on them when editing our final video. In regards of the shot variety being too fleeting, referring back to my comment in the above paragraphs, we didn't have enough of the correct shots to put into our draft video and therefor had to use ones which acted as a substitute whilst we organised to meet up with Eve again. Considering these comments Mr Ford had some good points to say about our video which made us more positive in terms of the range of shots and the locations etc. We worked on all of the aspects which he picked up on and tried to produce the most professional looking music video we could.
Wednesday 7 December 2011
How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?
In our music video and ancillary products we wanted to portray Eve as a sophisticated and versatile artist. By producing the work we did, i feel we achieved this successfully. When creating my ancillary product, i wanted it to relate to and create a similar impression to that of our music video, considering we carried our A2 product on from Emma's AS coursework, i feel i have grown to know Eve T as an artist and feel i am able to create products which i think represent her well. In relation the digipack and magazine advert, i wanted to depict Eve T as glamorous and sophisticated, which i why i stuck to a classy colour scheme which i carried on from my AS coursework, when creating the ancillary tasks i made many mock ups which i had to analyse and see which one i thought would represent Eve the most realistically.
When creating my magazine advert, i found that my draft was very weak, and after receiving very helpful, yet constructive criticism, i worked on the elements which were the weakest and tried my best to create the most professional looking advert i could. I also used the same colour scheme in my magazine advert as i did in my digipack, i thought this would create an element of continuity between the products. In relation to the music video, i think my ancillary products represent Eve T in the way which i intended to do initially, from the beginning, Emma and myself had different ideas of what we wanted to do with the digipack, backing away from our inspiration Ellie Goulding's dance genre, i chose to go interpret Eve in a different genre to the song 'Animal', her album Entourage features songs from different genre's and not just dance, i feel this creates a good contrast between the songs and shows the audience that Eve T is a versatile artist.
On the digipack cover, Eve T is wearing a faux leopard print fur coat, which i thought worked well considering the name of her new single was 'Animal', also, the images i chose to use in my digipack were ones which i felt would conform well to the 'male gaze' theory, in my feedback i was told that my cover image was a brilliant image to use for the kind of product i wanted to produce, but because the image i used suited perfectly, this also put my other chosen images under scrutiny, and i had to change them to ones which complimented Eve's flawless looks and looked good with the cover image. Because the image i used was such a good picture, we referred to it many times when filming our music video in relation to close ups etc.
Though the music video can be mistaken for the dance genre, the magical element which runs throughout the song help reduce the stereotypical element of dance music and creates a more dream-like feel to the song, which is also represented through the lyrics in the certain 'magical' aspects of the song. Hopefully the structure and style of our chosen song would appeal to a wider audience, this is definately a hard thing to do when creating a music video as people's judgement can be based on the appearance of the artist, luckily, our chosen artist is one which is very attractive and has the perfect dress sense to which we wanted to be featured in the video.
Overall, i think the combination of our main product and ancillary products work well together and help represent Eve in the initial way i intended.
When creating my magazine advert, i found that my draft was very weak, and after receiving very helpful, yet constructive criticism, i worked on the elements which were the weakest and tried my best to create the most professional looking advert i could. I also used the same colour scheme in my magazine advert as i did in my digipack, i thought this would create an element of continuity between the products. In relation to the music video, i think my ancillary products represent Eve T in the way which i intended to do initially, from the beginning, Emma and myself had different ideas of what we wanted to do with the digipack, backing away from our inspiration Ellie Goulding's dance genre, i chose to go interpret Eve in a different genre to the song 'Animal', her album Entourage features songs from different genre's and not just dance, i feel this creates a good contrast between the songs and shows the audience that Eve T is a versatile artist.
On the digipack cover, Eve T is wearing a faux leopard print fur coat, which i thought worked well considering the name of her new single was 'Animal', also, the images i chose to use in my digipack were ones which i felt would conform well to the 'male gaze' theory, in my feedback i was told that my cover image was a brilliant image to use for the kind of product i wanted to produce, but because the image i used suited perfectly, this also put my other chosen images under scrutiny, and i had to change them to ones which complimented Eve's flawless looks and looked good with the cover image. Because the image i used was such a good picture, we referred to it many times when filming our music video in relation to close ups etc.
Though the music video can be mistaken for the dance genre, the magical element which runs throughout the song help reduce the stereotypical element of dance music and creates a more dream-like feel to the song, which is also represented through the lyrics in the certain 'magical' aspects of the song. Hopefully the structure and style of our chosen song would appeal to a wider audience, this is definately a hard thing to do when creating a music video as people's judgement can be based on the appearance of the artist, luckily, our chosen artist is one which is very attractive and has the perfect dress sense to which we wanted to be featured in the video.
Overall, i think the combination of our main product and ancillary products work well together and help represent Eve in the initial way i intended.
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Sunday 27 November 2011
Editing our final video
During the filming process we had a number of problems confront us that were out of our control. These issues related to the limited time availability that our character chosen to play our artist had to film. It appeared that even with careful organisation; there were still last minute issues that forced us to have to rearrange filming, therefore postponing our chosen days to edit. With this, our final filming day then had to be a thursday (a day before the deadline). Evidently Katy and I were aware that this was very risky; however there was nothing that we could do about it, therefore we had to work around this. When it came to wednesday evening, we were again confronted with another big issue that our artist was no longer able to film thursday. Again, this was out of our control.
Already the editing process had begun as we had already filmed almost all of the lake shots and all of studio shots. This left the field shots, which consisted of about 100 shots - a big part of our video. However with the cancellation after cancellation we made the final decision to cut out the field location. When looking at the lake shots, there is that sense of a field location due to the surroundings, so even though we were no longer filming that location - it hasn't been completely took out our video. To overcome our problem, we had to use the shots we already had to 'fill in the gaps'.
When filming the other locations Katy and I took a fair few extra shots 'just in case' which evidently came in very handy! On top of this when editing I prolonged some of the shots instead of keeping that 'fast paced' quick shot theme throughout the whole video to make up for the lost location. Some of the shots had to be repeated which in turn, is a good thing to create the effect of recognition and impact to the audience. To ensure we pulled off the video well, we repeatedly listened to the song to match shots to the music in order to create the right effect. With this I brought in the idea of a 'dream' which the music style creates as there's a magical sound to it. This idea helped when editing some of the shots to be more longer and fitting them in with the music so that they complement each other. This also reflects some of the feedback we received. I.e. keeping that same expression at the beginning (quite quiet, subtle etc) and then changing it when the music becomes more up tempo. The idea of the longer dream shots fit in well with this and it then allowed me to create those contrasting faster shots when the music quickened.
Another issue we had to resolve was that most of the quick shots consisted of Eve saying one lyric in each one. With so many missing shots we had a limited number of shots of her lip syncing. Therefore we had to select certain shots of her lip syncing very carefully which meant that we left some other ones out in order for it to work, considering continuity, throughout the video.
Overall, I am very pleased with the turn out of the video. With having so many problems I felt the way that we over came still aloud us to bring in the effects we planned during the editing process.
Already the editing process had begun as we had already filmed almost all of the lake shots and all of studio shots. This left the field shots, which consisted of about 100 shots - a big part of our video. However with the cancellation after cancellation we made the final decision to cut out the field location. When looking at the lake shots, there is that sense of a field location due to the surroundings, so even though we were no longer filming that location - it hasn't been completely took out our video. To overcome our problem, we had to use the shots we already had to 'fill in the gaps'.
When filming the other locations Katy and I took a fair few extra shots 'just in case' which evidently came in very handy! On top of this when editing I prolonged some of the shots instead of keeping that 'fast paced' quick shot theme throughout the whole video to make up for the lost location. Some of the shots had to be repeated which in turn, is a good thing to create the effect of recognition and impact to the audience. To ensure we pulled off the video well, we repeatedly listened to the song to match shots to the music in order to create the right effect. With this I brought in the idea of a 'dream' which the music style creates as there's a magical sound to it. This idea helped when editing some of the shots to be more longer and fitting them in with the music so that they complement each other. This also reflects some of the feedback we received. I.e. keeping that same expression at the beginning (quite quiet, subtle etc) and then changing it when the music becomes more up tempo. The idea of the longer dream shots fit in well with this and it then allowed me to create those contrasting faster shots when the music quickened.
Another issue we had to resolve was that most of the quick shots consisted of Eve saying one lyric in each one. With so many missing shots we had a limited number of shots of her lip syncing. Therefore we had to select certain shots of her lip syncing very carefully which meant that we left some other ones out in order for it to work, considering continuity, throughout the video.
Overall, I am very pleased with the turn out of the video. With having so many problems I felt the way that we over came still aloud us to bring in the effects we planned during the editing process.
Friday 25 November 2011
Friday 18 November 2011
New Location
Katy and I have come to the decision to change our original 'seaside' location to another location we came across. The original idea was to film at the seaside as is reflects a key part of the song. However, with already having trouble with arranging a time to film - due to Eve working full time, we feel that going to the seaside would be too much of an inconvenience and it'll be a lot more difficult to film. We also have to consider that if the filming isn't right, we may have to travel back which would put upon a major problem for us all and could potentially ruin our video due to us not being able to deliver our best. Therefore we have come up with an alternate location. When looking for an alternate location for our draft, we came across a lake that looked perfect in terms of complimenting our song and also the relating to the sea with the ripples and reflections. Although it is a shame to have to abandon our original location idea it's a lot more ideal and sensible to go through with using this new location. We've also considered the positive feedback we had from this location from our first draft so overall we feel that it will definitely work. Above is a clip of the location, with putting it against the music it's clear that they do not contrast each other and do work with the overall effect portrayed. This location will give a similar feel/effect to the original location.
Filming the Final Studio Shots
On Wednesday night, me and Emma met up with Eve to film our final studio shots. We booked the room from 7-9 and then shot everything and even filmed someextras which we thought would come in handy if we didn't like some of the shots. The filming went really well and everything went to plan, luckily the camera didn't lose battery this time so we had time to film everything with time to spare. We also planned with Eve to get everything else filmed this sunday, depending on the weather. We are hoping to have similar weather to last time, but obviously it can't be guaranteed. I've looked on the weather forecast, and it is predicted to be cloudy, so hopefully it will stay dry and we will be able to film without any issues. Providing the weather is good, come sunday we will have finished filming, which means we start on the editing process- i feel we have left ourselves sufficient time to get everything done for the deadline on friday and we are very much looking forwards to seeing our final video and everyone else's opinions on it also.
Wednesday 16 November 2011
Draft Video Feedback
- The shot variety is good but they are too fleeting.
- It's hard to discern whether Eve is supposed to be happy or sad.
- Lip syncing is out in some clips.
- 1:18 looks like a continuity error.
- She looks slightly awkward in some clips.
Our draft music video had a lot of black screens in it due to the filming not being complete, therefore it was hard to judge whether to quick shots work or not. The quick shots was an effect Katy and I wanted to include in the music video as it's complements the fast paced music and adds to the idea of it being so fast that it encourages the viewer to watch it again. Tonight we have planned to film the rest of the studio shots which we will edit into our video in order to increase the amount of footage which will then make it a lot clearer to whether the quick shots work or not. Another point we are considering is the emotion and feelings being portrayed in the video through Eve's expression. We are planning to create positive and happier expressions when the music becomes more up tempo to help portray the further meaning of the song being about someone she is in love with. Therefore at the start (as seen in our draft) there won't be a mix of contrasting emotions next to each other and it'll work better with the song overall - emphasizing the impact of the chorus more. Further feedback we have received is:
- Positive opening shots - well framed and setting works really well. Some good editing.
- At the point 0.54 - be more theatrical/dramatic when throwing arms in the air - she looks uncomfortable (and is natural/at ease the rest of the time).
- Consider other props/setting/male to add interest!
When we come to film the lake shots again we will redo some of them to ensure that Eve is in the right character and does look comfortable. There are not many lake shots left to film so it shouldn't take us long to make any additional changes/shots. Next to the lake there is also the ideal field and woodland that we now plan to use as the setting works well and looks good. Considering the advice about adding a male character in the video I feel is a really good idea to add the element of male interest - it'll also work to form a more structured and clear narrative as the semantics of the song is around love and her love for a certain man. If we were to bring this element into the video it'd consist of short flashbacks of them both together. However, currently Katy and I both feel that it's a lot more additional work to do at such a late stage. It would also be difficult to create that chemistry between the two people - especially when we're working straight into the final video.
Friday 11 November 2011
Thursday 10 November 2011
Final Digipack
This is my final draft of my digipak, overall i'm really happy with the end result, and have taken in the constructive criticism i received and tried to improve it in as many areas as i could.
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Magazine Advert Development
Before handing in my final poster I made an improved draft from my first to help me develop my final draft. From doing this I've been able to further develop in order to achieve a high quality professional advert. On the 'before' advert I made the additional changes that I planned to do after I'd received the feedback on the first draft. I wanted to keep the same clothing in the advert, however chose to choose an image that comes across more stronger and dominant. In the first draft I felt that the lift of the skirt came across more fashion like rather than music. Therefore I've changed the image to a more forward and stronger pose - linking back to the how I wanted poses to appeal with Male Gaze through using Laura Mulvey's stronger poses. To add to the dance feel I've added a red tone to it which also cross links with the digipack bringing upon a repeated theme to the overall effect. I've also made the date bigger so the purpose of the advert is a lot more clearer and I've also used the rule of three for the reviews. I also switched the colour of the Animal and Eve T around as I felt that the orangery colour stood out a lot more than the gold colour. The gold colour works better with the Eve T writing due to it reflecting a platinum artist as a whole rather than just the single.
To further develop a professional advert I've redone the hair in order to achieve that glamorous, admirable look that appeals to fans. I feel that this change is better complimenting the make up and clothing in order to overall create that 'model like' look that people would aspire to be like. It also adds to making the artist more established. I've also changed the reviews to higher ones to sell the artist and I've also included my co-working record company logos in the bottom right. Additional changes I've made is the website; making it smaller and positioning it in the right hand corner so that it isn't on the artist's legs, however I've kept the iTunes logo in the same position to keep the rounded layout on the page.
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Sunday 6 November 2011
Feedback on DigiPack and Magazine Advert
- Change picture to a more stronger pose to correspond more with the DigiPack - Photo shop the wall lines out.
- Save the font from the website 'Dafont.com' and open it up in photo shop. This will enable me to edit the space between the letters using the grid guidance to ensure the space is equal.
- Re-position the iTunes advert?
- Add the record company logo to the advert.
- Make the date of release bigger and the website smaller.
- Change the nme ratings to /10 rather than stars.
- Use the rule of three for the reviews.
- Continue the red theme on cover inside/back inside - Add onto the lyrics on the cover inside in a neat square format.
- CD slot was previously in the centre - However I'm now moving this to the left cover - keeping the same image.
- Change the fonts on the track list to the same as the front cover.
- Photo shop the lines out of the images to add professionalism.
Friday 4 November 2011
Problem...
Today me and Emma had organised to film with Eve, but due to Eve cancelling on us
we had to cancel and reschedule to next week, which has put us back yet another week before the filming is finished. We are organising next week to meet up with Eve and get it all finished, also, another photoshoot is needed as i need to get some better pictures for my digipack.
we had to cancel and reschedule to next week, which has put us back yet another week before the filming is finished. We are organising next week to meet up with Eve and get it all finished, also, another photoshoot is needed as i need to get some better pictures for my digipack.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Filming the final shots...
Tomorrow me and Emma are meeting with Eve to film our final shots, which include the final location (the field) and the last remaining few of the sea side location. By tomorrow we aim to get all of our shots filmed, and not have the problem of running out of battery like we did last week. We will be filming the field shots in Carton Park in Narborough, (the same as the sea side shots) as we found a field which was perfect for what we wanted. Tomorrow we are due good weather, and i am hoping it will be similar to the weather we had last week, as the lighting was perfect and the shots we filmed looked really good. We're putting Eve in yet another different outift for tomorrow, as we can't have her wearing the same as what she is in the other locations. We're also hoping to get the rest of the studio shots filmed as soon as possible, as the ones we have at the moment are just short clips which correspond with the music, and none are actual shots with Eve singing which we need for the video. I also need to organise another photoshoot with Eve to get some more pictures to use for the digipack, so i will be getting in touch with her as soon as to organise this.
Friday 28 October 2011
26th October, Emma's 18th Birthday and Filming!
Today we filmed most of the shots for the draft of our music video at our sea side location. As we couldn't get to the sea side, we decided just for the draft to go and film at Abbey Park, but, as it wasn't a convenient location to get to, we stayed local and ended up with two local locations to choose from. One being Enderby's Jubilee Park, and the other being Carlton Park in Narborough. We chose Carlton Park as we knew there were some good locations to shoot, we ended up finding a tranquil lake surrounded by woodland, the weather was perfect and the shadowing from the woodland made perfect lighting for the shots also. Whilst setting up, we had a phone call from Eve telling us she'd been dropped off, but didn't know where she was. This resulted in Katy running round Carlton Park (which is a massive place!) for about 10 minutes before eventually finding her, it turned out she was in seeing distance from where we were set up but obviously we couldn't see her. When she arrived, we did her hair and make up, to a standard which was recognizable from the camera and started filming, we were just over half way through with filming the shots when we noticed the battery on the camera was running low, we decided to carry on with the filming and towards the end, unfortunately the battery just completely died, however, we got most of the shots we needed and couldn't have wished for more perfect weather, so we packed up and went home as we were all freezing! Here are a few of the location and setting up shots we took...
The lake we filmed at was perfect for what we wanted to achieve from the draft, the weather was lovely and the sun was shining onto the lake so you could see the ripples in the water, we wanted this effect for our draft so we could get a realism of how the waves would potentially look when we came to our final draft of the video.
We filmed at this angle for quite a few of the shots as the lighting was perfect, the surroundings create a really tranquil feel about the location which we think fits well into some parts of the song.
Emma on the phone to Eve, we were just getting set up when we had the phone call!
Katy setting up the tripod, this shows how close we were to the water! We were so cautious of knocking it into the lake, but thankfully neither of us did.
Emma setting up the tripod, here you get an indication of the surroundings, she looks very happy on her birthday!
Katy helping Eve get ready for the filming, it was freezing and this is what Eve wore for nearly 3 hours. However the weather was perfect for filming so it was a necessary sacrifice for our artist to be a little bit cold.
Eve in her outfit for the filming, we put her in floaty styled outfit as we thought the effect of the wind would look really good and relate to the tranquility of some elements of the song.
Eve preparing herself and taking a look at the 213 shot storyboard, we showed her which angles/shots we would be doing today and some of the poses and stances we wanted her in.
Monday 24 October 2011
Another problem...
We have encountered yet another problem tonight when coming to film. We were only allowed to use the studio for an hour and our artist Eve struggled with time management to make it on time – therefore we postponed tonight’s filming. However last minute – just before I rang up to cancel our booking, we all were able to meet at the studio at half six, the time we had originally booked it for! With it being last minute we only had 10 minutes to get the equipment, dress out artist and meet there – which we did!
Due to only having little time, we decided to take shorter shots rather than focus on getting every single studio shot. These tester shots gave us a practice with the camera to ensure there were no problems or issues with the camera (which there were, however they were quickly resolved!). They will be uploaded on the blog shortly after editing. Along with this we took a number of close up shots, some with lip syncing, some without as a basis for our first draft. A majority of our studio shots are close ups and corresponding with the music they will only be on screen for short seconds as the music is so fast paced – therefore for the first draft we could use the same shots repeatedly just to get a generalisation of the overall effect. After editing, with these developed shots, we can add them into the video and see if it fits in with the pace of the music. With the final video I plan to take different shots for each close up so that I can change the expression in each shot to portray meaning and links with the individual lyrics. I feel that with constantly repeating the same shots is not only a short way round, but also downgrades the professionalism of the video and is also cutting out a major way to express meaning through the video to the audience - therefore not creating that desired audience reaction. The quality of the shots we took tonight turned out well on the camera along with the lighting used and also the additional prop of a fan being used. Our next day to film will be Wednesday which is the final day that all filming will hopefully be done.
Due to only having little time, we decided to take shorter shots rather than focus on getting every single studio shot. These tester shots gave us a practice with the camera to ensure there were no problems or issues with the camera (which there were, however they were quickly resolved!). They will be uploaded on the blog shortly after editing. Along with this we took a number of close up shots, some with lip syncing, some without as a basis for our first draft. A majority of our studio shots are close ups and corresponding with the music they will only be on screen for short seconds as the music is so fast paced – therefore for the first draft we could use the same shots repeatedly just to get a generalisation of the overall effect. After editing, with these developed shots, we can add them into the video and see if it fits in with the pace of the music. With the final video I plan to take different shots for each close up so that I can change the expression in each shot to portray meaning and links with the individual lyrics. I feel that with constantly repeating the same shots is not only a short way round, but also downgrades the professionalism of the video and is also cutting out a major way to express meaning through the video to the audience - therefore not creating that desired audience reaction. The quality of the shots we took tonight turned out well on the camera along with the lighting used and also the additional prop of a fan being used. Our next day to film will be Wednesday which is the final day that all filming will hopefully be done.
Sunday 23 October 2011
Filming Schedule
Unfortunately our plan to film this half term hasn't turned out the way we had hoped. On Tuesday 18th we planned to film the studio location shots, however our room that we wanted to use (that we also used for the photo shoot) was unavaliable to use that night. With our artist, Eve working full time it's difficult to organise days to film. Therefore for the first draft we're making changes to one location in order to complete a first draft. As the Sea location is difficult to organise, we've substitued this idea for the first draft and decided to use somewhere more local and convieniant in order to get a real idea of the kind/quality of the shots. Our substiutue location is Abbey Park in Leicester. Our new schedule for filming is:
Monday: Studio shots filmed. Room booked 6:30-7:30
Wednesday: Abbey Park to be filming along with the field location shots. The weather is so far looking hopeful and the wind is also something that will help to adding the effect to our music video!
Saturday 22 October 2011
The Label
Through researching some CD covers I’ve taken note of what particular ‘small print’ writing is put on them (seen in picture below). This I then included on my drafts to add to the realism and professionalism of the digipacks. With this I then created my own names of a producer of the Album and a publisher. This will be included on my final digipacks.
When designing the logo I considered key colours that reflect an established business and connotate things such as importance/status, professionalism and I also want them to be renowned for being a high quality label. On the producer label I chose a block font, that reflects music – through the filled in circles signifying CD’s, vinyl’s etc and with this I used a gold colour as that initiates the idea of ‘being the best’.
With the publisher design I felt it wasn’t as big as the actual record label therefore their design can be a slightly more subtle. I used a simple colour grey that reflects the typical business, simple design. I felt this worked for a less established business as it keeps the professionalism theme and doesn’t reflect any other unnecessary connotations. Therefore I’ve kept it plain and simple.
When designing the logo I considered key colours that reflect an established business and connotate things such as importance/status, professionalism and I also want them to be renowned for being a high quality label. On the producer label I chose a block font, that reflects music – through the filled in circles signifying CD’s, vinyl’s etc and with this I used a gold colour as that initiates the idea of ‘being the best’.
With the publisher design I felt it wasn’t as big as the actual record label therefore their design can be a slightly more subtle. I used a simple colour grey that reflects the typical business, simple design. I felt this worked for a less established business as it keeps the professionalism theme and doesn’t reflect any other unnecessary connotations. Therefore I’ve kept it plain and simple.
PRODUCER - Republic Records (sound)
PUBLISHER - Collection Music
Thursday 20 October 2011
Looking at Digipacks
An idea of a digipack layout, context, fonts, information on the digipack, use of graphology and overall how it comes together through colour scheme and all of the above.
Monday 17 October 2011
Thursday 13 October 2011
Magazine Advert Draft
This is a very rough draft of what i want my magazine advert to look like, i will make some changes to it along the way.
Digipak Draft
Digipack Draft
After creating the mock up of my first draft I decided that I know longer liked the left cover, and cover inside images. They have a busy feel to the CD and don't quite work well with the overall pack. I included those images to portray that animal print, however I feel that the new images that have now taken their place look better. However much more is to be added and changed!
Wednesday 12 October 2011
CD Cover Analysis
The third and final cover i'm analysing is Jack Penate's 'Everything is New'. Again i've chosen a cover which has a very simplistic layout, there is no colour scheme, the cover is just in black and white which i think looks really good. The use of image is again like Jessie J's cover, with the artist facing and making eye contact with the camera. The font used for the name of the artist and album cover is in times new roman, which is a pretty boring font, yet i think it looks effective within the overall outlook of the cover, the cover looks reasonably effortless but professional. The layout is really simple, which i think the majority of the time looks the most effective, i really like the simplicity of the cover and the colourless scheme, i think i will try and achieve a similarly simplistic look when making my digipack.
CD Cover Analysis
The second CD cover i'm analysing is Daniel Merriweather's 'Love and War'. The use of image in this cover presents a sort of typical streetwise representation, with Merriweather walking through urban surroundings and looking like he's putting his hood up. There isn't any use of direct address in the cover, i like the fact he's looking infront of him down towards to ground, giving the impression he wants to keep himself to himself, the background i think works really well as it doesn't conform to your stereotypical cover background, and it looks interesting. The colour scheme is pretty simple, with the neutral colours of the image and the predominant black and white text which is situated at the top of the cover, the font used is quite interesting, i like the fact that the name of the artist and the name of the album are in different colours and have contrasting backgrounds. The overall layout and effectiveness of the cover is simple yet effective, there is only one image, which is very basic, but the text used isn't very subtle and adds some contrast to the cover.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
CD Cover Analysis
When looking at albums covers to analyse, i haven't stuck to covers which comply to the genre me and Emma have chosen, the covers i have chosen, i have chose because they are aesthetically pleasing, and use colour schemes which compliment the colour within the picture of the artist, which is something i wish to achieve when making the album cover for Eve T.
The first CD cover i'm analyzing is pop/R'n'B/soul artist Jessie J's album 'Who You Are'. The use of image in this cover comes across very effectively as the image is centralized and Jessie J's facial expression creates the element of direct address, the colour scheme used is a simple gold and black scheme, which i think reflects Jessie J's genre well and doesn't overpower the small space in which it occupates. The layout is very simple, there is just one eye catching image, which fills the space nicely, and the two pieces of text which introduce the artists name and the name of the album/song. There are two different fonts used, in two different colours which creates contrast and adds a hint of colour to the cover, i really like the use of gold in this cover, as it adds a touch of class and glamour to the cover, and breaks up the monochrome element. I like the handwritten style font used for the text, i think it adds a personal aspect to the cover, and creates an overall professional look without alot of detail.
Sunday 9 October 2011
CD Cover Analysis & Mock Ups
With developing and producing ideas for the CD cover I started to create mock ups with photo's from the photo shoot. With these, I added effects and fonts to get a generalisation of what images fit and work well as a CD cover - therefore helping me to narrow down the 300+ photo's Katy and I had taken when we conducted a photo shoot.
Before hand, I'd already come up with some idea's of editing and the style of the cover when conducting primary research. However when creating these new CD mock ups I furthered my inspiration by looking at albums I had myself to get ideas. This helped me to understand what effects (by using photo shop) work well producing a professional looking CD cover. With this I tried to create that 'hip hop/dance' style about it- this referring to the font, layout and colour pallet. Furthering from this I then looked into a variety of albums from a broad variety of music genre's- which I got from an on line music magazine review. When creating my Digi pac I have to ensure that I keep that professional convention in order for it to look real and publishable - Therefore my next approach was to apply elements from the CD cover's I'd researched (in some ways I tried to directly copy) into creating my CD cover. This involved using similar photo poses, the same colours, layout - which all constructed my final results.
What I hope to achieve from doing this is..because I've chosen a wide variety of contrasting CD's - by getting ideas from each of them I've given myself a lot more choices towards what I can do with mine etc, rather than simply adding writing to a photo. Below you'll see I've put the initial idea next to my constructed idea from that. What is noticeable is how clearly I've used that CD cover for inspiration. Note these are only mock ups and are far from my finalised idea. I'm going to conduct further research into a digi pac, identifying it's key features and what I need to include within mine. One thing I have in mind is that in my digi pac, it will include more than one photo of Eve, therefore after identifying key features I can then see what pictures work well with each other, i.e. which ones compliment each other, portray Eve in the correct way and also advertise the digi pac well and in an established manner.
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